The  Ways  of  Thrift 


How  Men  and 
Women  Have 
Made  the 
Best  of  Things 


By  Llewellyn  Jones 


‘TIS  hard  for  an  empty  bag 

TO  STAND  UPRIGHT” 

BENJAMIN  franklin 


Published  by 

American  Society  for  Thrift 
1 002  Straus  Building 
Chicago 


School  Pupils  on  Thrift 

Winners  of  the  First  Straus  Prizes. 


CASES  OF  TYPICAL  THRIFT: 

By  Winnifred  Wilson,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  Dak. 

I have  observed  that  a boy  who  lives  near  us  is 
a thrifty  person.  There  are  six  in  the  family.  His 
father  works  in  a store  and  his  mother  does  all 
she  can  to  keep  the  children  dressed  neatly.  This 
boy  takes  care  of  other  people’s  chickens  and  raises 
and  sells  them  himself.  He  sells  newspapers  after 
school  and  runs  errands.  He  has  a vegetable  garden 
every  summer  and  sells  his  vegetables  from  house 
to  house. 

The  neighbors  all  like  him,  I think,  because  he  is 
thrifty  and  will  work  honestly  for  them.  He  does 
not  spend  his  money  carelessly,  but  buys  his  own 
clothes  and  other  things  that  he  needs.  He  saves 
his  money  and  buys  stamps  at  school  and  puts  it  in 
the  bank  every  Saturday.  He  dresses  neatly  too,  and 
often  buys  things  for  the  home  and  for  his  father 
and  mother.  He  is  ten  years  old  and  in  the  fifth 
grade.  He  has  over  twenty-five  dollars  in  the  bank 
now.  I think  this  boy  is  thrifty  and  will  be  rich 
when  he  is  older. 

This  girl  won  $25  prize  for  the  best  definition  of  Thrift. 

By  Hazel  Haag,  High  School,  Warren,  Pa.: 

Thrift  is  fnanagement  of  one’s  affairs  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  value  of  one’s  possessions  is  being 
constantly  increased. 

This  girl  won  $10  prize 


Definitions  and  stories  given  honorable  mention 
follow  the  “Ways  of  Thrift.” 


yyiA.s. 

kill  , 

Tcaj  - I "u,  r-j  M«/  Vj* 'U/cT  f 

It  W,  Um 

/be)  1*,  ^ rt-AASUL 

:dLJ  f ~iLc 

\ctbyc 

O^-J)  Y /rxjLt  J^-*^**  ddLo-un^s . 

Stw.-L5 


Jlmerican  Society  for  thrift 


The  Ways  of  Thrift 

By  Llewellyn  Jones 


(Copyright  1913,  by  American  Society  for  Thrift) 


We  are  all  well  acquainted  with  constant  com- 
plaints of  the  high  cost  of  living;  we  all  hear  oc- 
casional predictions  of  “hard  times”;  and  we  all 
meet  people  who  seem  to  be  having  hard  times. 
The  purpose  of  this  book,  and  of  the  society,  which 
Os  publishing  it,  is  to  show  that  suffering  from  the 
high  cost  of  living,  or  suffering  because  we  cannot 
become  rich  is  quite  unnecessary. 

*’  People  have  said  that  before,  however,  and  they 
have  thought  out  wonderful  plans  by  which  every- 
body could  become  rich  and  happy,  just  by  passing 
Ma  few  laws,  and  changing  conditions,  so  they  claimed. 
"That  is  not  the  purpose,  however,  of  the  present 
book.  Its  purpose  is  to  show  each  individual  how 
he  can  make  the  best  of  his  own  opportunities,  and 
help  his  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens  to  make  the 
best  of  their  opportunities,  without  waiting  to  per- 
suade the  world  to  some  great  change  in  conditions 
— which  might  not  “work”  when  it  was  made. 

This  hook  advocates  a method  which  depends  on  the 
co-operation  of  the  reader  himself,  rather  than  upon 
any  outside  force,  and  depends  especially  upon  his  un- 
derstanding* of  one  simple  word,  and  upon  his  doing*  the 
things  which  that  word  indicates. 

When  some  of  us  use  that  word  Thrift,  we  think 
of  saving  as  its  meaning.  A thrifty  person,  we  im- 
agine, is  a person  who  never  spends  a nickel  more 
than  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  who  always  saves 
up  old  scraps  which  other  people  would  throw 
\away.  But  this  is  a very  erroneous  idea. 

When  we  see  a very  fine  child,  healthy,  plump, 
red-cheeked,  active,  we  say  it  is  a thriving  one,  and 
the  word  thriving  never  suggests  skimping  and  sav- 
ing. Well,  thrift  and  thriving  mean  the  same  thing, 
for  they  are  two  forms  of  the  same  word.  The 
thrifty  man  is,  really,  the  thriving  man,  but,  more 
than  that,  he  is  the  man  who  is  thriving  on  account 
of  his  own  efforts. 

Thrift,  then,  means  literally  the  ability  to  thrive. 

It  seems  necessary  to  go  into  these  details  because 
many  people  have  such  a wrong  idea  of  thrift  that 
they  refuse  to  advocate  it.  They  imagine  that  it 
means  niggardly  cutting  down  of  necessary  ex- 
penses and  they  point  to  the  short-sighted  people — 
^especially  among  the  very  poor — who  refuse  to 
spend  enough  money  on  food  or  on  their  children's 
education,  in  order  that  they  may  hoard  that  money 
away  where  it  will  bring  in  a much  smaller  return 
than  would  a good  education  for  their  children  or 
the  added  strength  from  good  food.  In  the  same 
class  are  those  foolish  people  who  spend  their 
money  recklessly,  and  urge  as  an  excuse  that  they 
would  rather  be  spendthrifts  than  misers.  Such 
people  think  that,  at  the  best,  thrift  is  a compromise 
between  the  possibilities  of  being  a spendthrift  on 
the  one  hand  or  a miser  on  the  other.  As  a matter 


3 


ylmerican  Society  for  thrift 


of  fact,  thrift  is  no  such  thing.  If  you  classified 
every  degree  of  liberality  in  spending,  from  the  so- 
called  “sport,”  at  one  end,  to  the  miser  at  the  other, 
you  would  not  find  that  thrift  was  one  of  those  de- 
grees. No  attitude  toward  one’s  money,  or  strength, 
can  be  called  thrift  which  does  not  take  account  of 
what  we  expend,  of  how  efficiently  we  spend  it,  and 
of  what  we  get  in  return. 

In  a word,  thrift  is  efficient  expenditure.  In 
Europe,  for  centuries  people  have  had  to  learn  to 
live  on  small  incomes.  They  have  succeeded  to  a 
wonderful  extent,  and  although  t he  peasants  of 
France — to  take  just  one  example — are  much  poorer 
than  any  class  of  native  Americans,  yet  their  com- 
bined thrift  makes  France  a very  rich  nation  with 
exceptional  ability  to  take  part  in  great  international 
financial  operations.  America,  in  the  past,  has  been 
prodigal  with  her  national  resources;  to  the  pioneer 
who  dug,  ploughed,  planted,  hunted,  or  fished,  she 
has  given  in  abundance;  and  what  has  come  so  easily 
has  naturally  gone  just  as  easily.  But  now  the 
grass  has  been  rather  well  cropped  over  once,  and 
we  shall  have  to  be  content  in  the  future  to  take 
the  shorter  grass  and  make  the  best  of  it.  The 
lessons  of  economy  and  of  making  the  best  of 
things,  which  have  been  learned  over  in  Europe, 
must  now  be  learned  by  us — and  when  we  begin  we 
shall  be  able  to  do  it  more  thoroughly  than  tjhe 
Europeans  themselves,  because  we  shall  bring  to 
bear  a greater  inventive  faculty.  IMany  readers,  and 
especially  the  young,  high-spirited  reader  may  pro- 
test that  this  is  too  small  and  prosaic  a thing  for  a 
great  nation  like  America  to  embark  upon — beneath 
her  dignity  in  fact.  Let  us  show  how  wrong  any 
such  idea  is.  In  the  first  place,  the  whole  advance  of 
mankind  from  savagery  to  civilization  has  been  due 
to  mankind’s  ever-growing  thriftiness.  The  savages 
who  merely  hunted  their  meat  gave  way  after  a time 
to  the  wiser  savages  who  kept  some  of  the  animals 
they  captured  and  did  not  kill  them  until  they  were 
needed.  And  very  soon  the  savages  who  did  that 
found  that  they  could  breed  from  their  captive  stock; 
their  thrift  meant  greater  plenty  in  the  end.  It  was 
the  same  with  vegetable  foods;  the  people  who 
merely  ate  what  nature  gave  them  and  took  no  heed 
for  the  morrow  gave  way  to  people  who  first  stored 
and  then  planted. 

Thrift  is  the  mainspring  that  keeps  the  clock  of 
progress  going. 

THRIFT  AND  INVENTION. 

The  ordinary  steam  engine  burning  coal  under  a 
boiler  only  utilizes  from  five  to  ten  per  cent  of  the 
energy  of  the  coal.  The  remainder  is  wasted  in 
smoke,  waste  heat  and  the  overcoming  of  friction.  In 
1893  Rudolph  Diesel,  a German  engineer,  set  to  work 
on  a steam  engine  which  should  be  more  thrifty  in 
its  operation.  To  do  this,  he  did  not  try  to  arrange 
a firebox  that  would  use  less  coal — that  would  be 
penuriousness  and  not  thrift.  He  set  the  idea  be- 
fore him  of  an  engine  which  should  utilize  as  much 
energy  as  possible  and  waste  as  little  as  possible. 
He  then  figured  out  where  the  waste  occurred  in  the 
ordinary  engine.  It  was  in  the  burning  of  the.  coal 
and  in  the  escape  of  the  steam  from  the  cylinder 


4 


yJmerican  Society  for  thrift 


after  each  stroke.  The  engine  he  produced  is  too 
complicated  to  describe  here,  but,  by  burning  coal 
oil  or  any  other  oil  instead  of  coal,  and  burning  it  in 
the  cylinder  instead  of  in  the  boiler,  he  produced  an 
engine  which  gives  more  energy  from,  for  example, 
the  burning  of  liquid  tar  than  the  old  style  engine 
would  develop  from  burning  the  whole  coal,  of 
which  that  tar  is  a by-product.  Diesel  raised  the 
percentage  of  energy  obtainable  from  a maximum  of 
ten  per  cent  to  thirty-five  per  cent.  That  there  is 
still  room  for  improvement  simply  shows  that  the 
progress  of  thrift  is  endless. 

Thrift  is  the  efficient  use  of  energy  and  the  effi- 
cient use  of  energy  means  absence  of  strain  and  con- 
sequently happiness  and  health. 

THRIFT  IN  THE  CITY. 

An  employe  of  a large  corporation  noticed  that  the 
writing  fluid  in  his  inkwell  evaporated  very  rapidly. 
Out  of  curiosity,  he  figured  out  the  amount  of 
evaporation  and  found  it  to  be  one  ounce  a week. 
He  inquired  the  number  of  inkwells  in  use  in  the 
offices  of  the  corporation  and  found  there  were 
three  thousand.  This  meant  a loss  of  3,000  ounces  of 
ink  in  one  week,  and  at  the  price  paid  for  it,  meant 
a loss  of  $1,200  a year.  He  brought  this  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  firm  and  $750  was  spent  in  buying  a 
new  form  of  inkwell,  in  which  the  evaporation  was 
cut  off.  That  left  a saving  of  $450  the  first  year 
and  $1,200  a year  thereafter. 

Leakage  is  the  universal  enemy  of  all  forms  of 
thrift  and  progress. 

A young  business  man,  realizing  he  was  smoking 
too  much,  but  reluctant  to  quit  entirely,  decided 
he  would  at  least  cut  his  cigar  bill  ten  cents  a day. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  on  hand  $36.50.  The 
amount  of  his  thrift  didn’t  impress  as  worth  while, 
and  he  first  thought  of  “blowing  it.”  His  good 
sense  prevailed,  however,  and  he  finally  used  the 
$36.50  to  pay  the  first  premium  on  a 20-payment  life 
insurance  policy  for  $1,000.  He  recently  received 
the  paid-up  policy  from  the  insurance  company 
which  is  worth  $1,000  to  his  wife  and  family,  and 
which  cost  him  only  $730.00.  When  his  first  policy 
was  five  years  he  decided  to  make  another  cut  of 
ten  cents  on  cigars,  and  started  the  second  policy, 
in  which  he  has  made  15  annual  payments.  At  the 
present  time  he  has  five  of  the  one  thousand  dollar 
policies,  maturing  in  from  five  to  ten  years,  all  being 
paid  for  from  money  he  used  to  “burn  up.” 

Thrift  never  despises  small  beginnings. 

A poor  Chicago  boy  had  a friend  whose  father 
kept  a junk  shop.  He  became  interested  in  the  busi- 
ness and  suggested  the  plan  of  specializing  in  certain 
lines  of  junk  and  learning  just  where  those  kinds 
could  be  had.  This  policy  was  so  successful  that 
the  father  set  up  his  son  and  the  friend  in  business 
for  themselves,  and  in  three  years  they  made  enough 
money  for  both  of  the  young  men  to  marry. 

To  specialize  even  in  the  humblest  occupation 
raises  its  dignity  and  its  rewards. 

A young  boy  employed  in  Chicago  to  deliver 
groceries  made  a practice  of  asking  his  customers 


/ Imericar  Society  for  thrift 


or  their  servants  from  whom  the  neighbors  obtained 
their  goods.  He  then  made  a point  of  calling  on 
these  neighbors  and  leaving  samples  of  his  firm's 
goods.  As  a result  of  this  policy  he  brought  in 
many  orders  and  was  soon  given  a position  as  so- 
licitor with  a good  field  for  advancement. 

Thrift  and  initiative  are  closely  related  and  most 
successful  when  traveling  together. 

An  Evanston  woman,  who  has  to  cater  for  a hus- 
band and  five  children,  found  that  her  table  expenses 
were  increasing  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  family 
income.  She  had  read  in  a magazine  of  the  advan- 
tages of  buying  all  food  stuffs  by  weight  instead  of 
by  the  package  or  measure.  She  figured  the  total 
weight  of  food  for  one  month  and  found  it  to  be  634 
pounds,  inclusive  of  everything  bought,  making  an 
average  weight  of  foods  consumed  of  a little  over  21 
pounds  a day.  The  total  cost  that  month  was  $122.04, 
or  19J4  cents  a pound.  She  determined  that  she 
would  do  better  the  next  month.  She  set  herself  a 
maximum  average  price  of  15  cents  a pound,  and  by 
substituting  more  rice,  beans,  preparations  of  cereals 
for  part  of  her  former  expenditures  for  meat,  she 
succeeded  in  making  her  average  price  for  all  food  14 
cents  a pound,  while  the  total  amount  she  bought 
was  572  pounds.  Part  of  this  saving  was  due  to  more 
careful  overseeing  of  her  kitchen  with  the  idea  of 
preventing  waste.  The  total  expenses  of  that  month 
were  $80.08,  and  her  ideal  at  the  present  is  to  cut  her 
expenses  to  $60.00  a month.  She  now  studies  food 
advertisements  in  the  magazines,  watches  bargain 
sales  at  the  stores  and  has  the  interest  and  co-opera- 
tion of  her  family  in  the  interesting  endeavor  to  keep 
their  food  expenditures  on  a reasonable  basis. 

Setting  a standard  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  thrift. 

THRIFT  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 

William  Babikow  and  his  five  sons  and  four 
daughters  have  a tract  of  land  nine  miles  from 
Baltimore,  of  about  twenty-four  acres,  twenty  of 
which  are  under  cultivation.  The  Babikow  family 
bought  this  land  in  1893 — when  other  people  were 
complaining  of  hard  times.  They  applied  thrifty 
methods  to  its  cultivation  and  are  now  realizing  an 
income  of  $10,000  a year  from  truck  raising.  They 
raised  thirty-two  kinds  of  truck  and  derived  from 
two  to  four  crops  a year,  as  well  as  flowers  from 
practically  every  foot  of  their  ground. 

On  one  three-quarter  acre  patch  they  raise 
horseradish  and  plant  lettuce  between  the  rows. 
The  horse-radish  brings  in  $700  a season  and  the 
lettuce  brings  in  $300.  By  planting  the  horse-radish 
sets  deeper  than  usually  done,  they  save  the  same 
sets  from  season  to  season. 

On  a quarter-acre  patch  of  land  given  over  to 
peonies,  the  flowers  of  which  sell  at  60  cents  a 
dozen,  they  plant  their  beans  a few  weeks  before 
cutting  the  flowers,  so  that  no  time  is  wasted  be- 
tween crops. 

Their  land  cost  originally  $2,900;  they  paid  $1,000 
cash  and,  after  spending  all  the  necessary  money  on 
improvements,  they  paid  off  the  indebtedness  in 
four  years.  They  have  cropped  their  land  more 
heavily  every  year  and  it  never  yet  has  shown  signs 


6 


American  Society  for  thrift 


of  giving  out.  Their  income  is  stated  above. 

Thrift  is  a common  platform  on  which  the  whole 
family  may  co-operate  with  marvelous  results. 

Thomas  Fuller,  of  Monterey  County,  California, 
wondered  what  the  real  value  was  of  his  stubble  land, 
which  is  usually  reckoned  to  be  worth  $1.50  an  acre. 
He  ascertained  the  value  of  bunches  of  sheep  and 
cattle  by  weighing  them  before  turning  them  loose 
in  the  stubble,  and  again  after  they  had  had  their 
fill  of  the  living  which  the  field  afforded,  and  he 
found  that  when  the  live  stock  was  turned  loose 
before  the  birds  and  field  animals  had  spoiled  the 
stubble,  it  was  worth  $15.00  an  acre. 

Thrift  learns  the  value  of  every  by-product  and 
utilizes  it  to  the  best  advantage. 

E.  Dowden,  of  Hall  County,  Texas,  owned  a 15- 
acre  apple  orchard.  He  started  to  make  cider  from 
his  culls  and  found  that  with  a small  cider  press, 
costing  $30.00,  he  could  make  enough  cider  and 
cider  vinegar,  selling  at  50  cents  a gallon  and  a dollar 
a gallon,  respectively,  to  bring  him  in  $425  a year. 

“Culls”  not  only  of  apples,  but  of  many  other 
things,  yield  value  to  the  man  who  will  make  their 
possibilities  realities. 

Elgin  K.  Bruce,  a Pennsylvania  farmer,  moved  to 
Ohio  and  bought  some  land,  most  of  which  was 
under  water.  The  neighbors  all  assumed  that  he 
was  being  swindled  and  satirically  asked  if  he  in- 
tended to  raise  bull  frogs  in  this  slough.  Bruce 
did  not  say  anything,  but  within  a few  weeks  he 
had  seventeen  small  ponds  laid  out  on  his  land, 
stocked  with  gold  fish.  He  sold  the  common  varie- 
ties of  these  fish  at  prices  ranging  at  $10.00  to  $40.00 
a hundred,  unusual  specimens  brought  as  high  as 
$25.00  each,  and  he  now  has  a stock  of  over  a million 
gold  fish,  including  breeding  stock,  which  is  alto- 
gether priceless.  The  neighbors  are  now  talking 
about  “some  people's  luck.” 

The  thrifty  man  does  not  compete  with  his  neigh- 
bors, but  with  himself. 

FROM  CAR  CONDUCTOR  TO  CAPITALIST. 

Eleven  years  ago  Adam  Foster  was  an  immigrant 
from  the  north  of  Ireland  with  a wife  and  two  chil- 
dren and  an  earning  capacity  of  $12  a week.  He 
was  a car  conductor  in  a small  town  twelve  miles 
outside  of  Boston  and  saw  no  chance  of  ever  rising- 
above  $14  a week.  He  determined  to  do  something 
else.  When  he  saw  a small  cottage  backed  by  an 
unoccupied  field  near  the  end  of  his  carline,  he  de- 
termined to  take  this  cottage  and  raise  truck  in  a 
small  greenhouse.  He  had  already  saved  $600  out  of 
his  meager  wages  and  with  that  and  $400  which  he 
borrowed,  he  rented  the  cottage  and  field  and  set 
up  a small  glass  house  in  which  he  raised  cucumbers. 
From  his  first  year's  profits  he  kept  himself  and 
family  and  paid  off  his  loan.  From  his  second  year's 
profits  he  extended  his  glass  and  put  more  of  the 
field  under  cultivation.  He  has  now  three  acres 
under  glass,  thirty  acres  under  cultivation,  and  the 
value  of  his  plant  is  estimated  conservatively  at  $50,- 
000.  He  has  practically  made  all  of  this  from  cu- 


Jlmerican  Society  for  thrift 


cumbers  alone.  He  has  an  auto  truck  and  a touring 
car,  and  his  two  sons  have  preferred  to  stay  with  his 
fascinating  business  in  preference  to  taking  courses 
at  Harvard. 

To  bend  all  one’s  energies  to  one  specific  task 
means  preeminence.  The  man  who  specializes  will 
never  suffer  from  lack  of  opportunity. 


THRIFT  AND  LEADERSHIP. 

Tontitown  is  a little  community  in  northwestern 
Arkansas  inhabited  by  800  Italians.  All  of  them  are 
now  making  prosperous  livings  producing  wines  and 
cheese — things  which  are  particularly  adapted  to 
their  previous  training — and  they  find  an  outlet  for 
their  goods  among  high  class  clubs  and  hotels. 
These  prosperous  Italians  are  the  people  who,  under 
less  happy  circumstances,  would  be  glutting  the 
labor  market  in  overcrowded  cities.  Their  pros- 
perity in  the  country  is  largely  due  to  Father  Bandini, 
a Roman  Catholic  priest,  who  is  the  manager,  as  well 
as  the  spiritual  director  of  this  colony.  He  founded 
it  in  1898,  among  a few  Italians  who  had  already 
tried  such  living  under  the  auspices  of  a New  York 
philanthropist,  August  Coburn,  but  had  not  made  a 
success,  nor  was  success  cheaply  bought  under 
Father  Bandini’s  administration.  For  some  years 
the  Italians  had  to  work  in  the  gold  mines  of  In- 
dian Territory  and  had  hard  times  supporting  their 
families,  but  by  economy,  efficiency  in  their  work 
and  by  co-operative  buying  of  all  their  necessaries, 
their  efforts  were  successful. 

Thrift  can  only  win  its  greatest  victories  through 
co-operation,  and  co-operation  its  greatest  victories 
through  leadership. 


THRIFT  AND  CO-OPERATION. 

In  England  there  are  now  over  2,600,000  members 
of  co-operative  societies  and  in  1910  they  sold  goods 
valued  at  $600,000,000  and  distributed  profits,  divi- 
dends of  $60,000,000  among  themselves.  This  is  all 
the  growth  of  a little  over  a hundred  years,  and  is  an 
example  of  a movement  that  has  been  wonderfully 
successful  throughout  Europe  as  well  as  in  Great 
Britain.  Last  August  600  delegates,  representing 
20,000,000,000  members  of  co-operative  societies  all 
over  the  world  met  in  convention  at  Glasgow,  and 
Earl  Grey,  in  his  inaugural  address,  told  them  that 
co-operation  in  industry  would  one  day  cover  the 
whole  civilized  world.  The  fact  that  co-operation 
has  not  so  far  been  successful  on  a large  scale  in 
America,  is  due  simply  to  the  fact  that  the  Americans 
have  not  yet  learned  thrift  and  foresight  in  the  or- 
dering of  their  lives.  When  it  dawns  upon  them 
that  through  co-operative  manufacturing  and  buying 
they  can  be  paying  dividends  to  themselves,  every 
time  they  buy  groceries  or  other  necessaries,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  co-operation  will  begin  to  grow  in 
America  in  the  same  wonderful  manner  that  it  has 
grown  in  Great  Britain  and  Europe. 

Only  the  thrifty  man  is  in  a position  to  make  the 
necessary  beginnings  of  co-operative  success. 


ylmerican  Society  for  thrift 


THRIFT  IN  SCHOOLS. 

Mr.  J.  E.  Wolfe,  late  superintendent  of  schools 
in  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  one  of  the  most  en- 
thusiastic supporters  of  the  school  garden  idea,  or- 
ganized 2,000  school  children  of  his  town  into  gar- 
dening squads  and  had  them  cultivate  quarter-acre 
gardens,  while  another  2,000  cultivated  their  home 
gardens. 

Every  child  in  the  United  States  should  learn  to 
support  his  or  her  life  directly  from  the  soil.  This 
W,ould  be  real  social  insurance. 

The  boys  of  Morgan  Park  High  School,  near  Chi- 
cago, have  gone  into  the  apple  producing  business,  as 
the  result  of  a plan  of  J.  W.  Colley,  Assistant 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  who  wanted  to 
find  some  outlet  for  their  superfluous  energy.  A 
friend  offered  him  the  use  of  an  old  apple  orchard 
if  he  thought  the  boys  could  do  anything  with  it. 
The  trees  were  forty  years  old  and  had  not  been 
sprayed  or  pruned  for  ten  years.  Thirty  high  school 
boys  formed  a club,  obtained  the  advice  of  an  expert 
who  picked  out  350  trees  that  he  thought  could  be 
saved  and  went  to  work  to  save  them.  By  systematic 
work  in  gangs  they  saved  these  trees  and  at  the  time 
this  was  written,  had  such  good  crops  in  view  that 
they  were  debating  whether  to  sell  them  retail  in  the 
neighborhood  or  whether  to  arrange  with  commis- 
sion houses  and  dispose  of  their  crop  at  wholesale. 

The  energies  of  youth,  guided  by  the  thrift  spirit, 
represent  a national  resource  of  unsuspected  rich- 
ness. 


A THRIFTY  UNIVERSITY. 

At  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  is  a unique  educational 
institution  from  the  standpoint  of  thrift.  It  was 
founded  forty  years  ago  by  Henry  Baker  Brown.  It 
started  with  a debt  of  $16,000  and  in  the  course  of  its 
career  not  only  has  wiped  out  that  debt,  but  has  put 
over  $1,000,000  in  its  plant.  The  university  now  has 
over  5,000  students,  who  are  given  their  tuition  and 
board  at  a minimum  rate  of  $159  and  a maximum 
rate  of  $224,  for  a school  year  of  forty-eight  weeks. 
The  university  also  has  arranged  a scheme  by  which 
its  students  can  rent  their  books,  if  they  cannot  afford 
to  buy  them,  and  so  there  are  no  incidental  expenses. 
The  important  point  in  this  connection  is  not  onlv 
that  they  are  boarded  and  taught  at  such  a small 
cost,  but  throughout  their  course  they  imbibe  without 
knowing  it  a spirit  of  thrift  that  is  of  value  to  them 
all  their  lives. 

If  university  students  had  at  graduation  an  ac- 
quired spirit  and  knowledge  of  thrift  from  inspiration 
and  observation  their  diplomas  would  have  their 
greatest  meaning. 

THRIFT  IN  EDUCATION. 

H.  E.  Miles,  president  of  the  Wisconsin  State 
Board  of  Industrial  Education,  calculates  that  fifty 
per  cent  of  our  national  educational  expense  is 
wasted,  and  he  has  inaugurated  a system  of  in- 
dustrial education  in  Wisconsin  that  prevents  this 
waste.  The  ordinary  school,  dealing  practically  ex- 


9 


Will  We  H 

s.  ) 

The  American  pec 
and  yet  it  is  true  that  th< 
money-making  powers— 
to  make  money — no  dout 
and  that  is  the  equivale 
money  gets  its  chief  vah 
saying  that  the  want  of 
the  poverty  of  the  world 
already  existing  povert} 
The  happy-go-lucky  spi 
reason  why  so  much  mo: 
amount  of  pleasure  is  n 
where  there  is  no  play, 
every  year  by  the  people  c 
not  be  described  as  sane  p 
Now,  if  this  Society  by  education  can  bring 
people,  it  will  have  made  a holier  people.  Thrift  d 
and  clothing — no,  the  thriftier  he  is  the  more  mo 
Thrift  aims  at  cutting  out  the  useless  and  sensei 
the  things  that  are  sensible  and  useful,  and  ther 
cannot  have  national  thrift  until  we  have  commu 
until  you  have  individual  thrift. 

We  have  seasons  of  unusual  prosperity,  and 
our  prosperity,  but  when  we  examine  to  see  how  i 
have  lived  up  to  our  last  cent  just  as  we  did  in  les 
blame  the  whole  system  of  things.  We  are  swa 
hard  times  result.  We  yell  for  a condition  which 
will  enable  us  to  become  spendthrifts — to  satisfy  e 
never  get  it,  the  world  and  life  are  not  built  on  ti 
virtue ; it  is  a principle.  Thrift  is  not  an  affair  o 
not  niggardliness,  but  wisdom.  Thrift  is  not  so  i 
people — the  community — our  government,  all  v| 
was  this  country  built — little  by  little  was  the  w 
the  structure  of  science  grow.  Little  by  little  di 
an  attitude  of  mind.  A spendthrift  does  not  need: 
is  the  result  of  loose  habit  of  mind.  He  may  be  as  ] 
Thrift  does  not  require  a great  deal  of  money,  bt 
Our  American  government  gives  all  classes 
dation  of  American  democracy.  Why  not  have  tl 
primary  grades?  We  teach  the  children  all  the  o 
ernment.  Then  why  not  the  A.  B.  C/s  of  thrif 
city  waste  we  now  complain  of  will  be  material 
Another  matter  I want  to  dwell  on  for  a me 
get-rich-quick  schemers  who  have  taken  such  a 
advertisements  in  our  public  press,  invest  the  $30,! 
of  perhaps  several  years.  Naturally  it  is  lost,  and  1j| 
before  they  get  well  started. 

My  friends,  Thrift  is  creative  economy,  and  jj 
of  magnificence/’  And  now  that  we  have  the  i 
psychological  time  for  the  promulgation  of  Thrift  ) 
for  many  ills. 

The  American  Society  for  Thrift  is  an  u 
sympathy. 


When 


10 


e National  Thrift? 

Straus 

as  a nation  dislike  to  be  told  they  are  unthrifty, 
re  unthrifty  in  the  extreme.  They  boast  of  their 
the  facts  justify  them.  Americans  know  how 
>out  that — but  they  don’t  know  how  to  spend  it — 
to  saying  they  don’t  know  how  to  save  it — for 
fom  its  use.  I do  not  want  to  be  understood  as 
;ft  explains  the  greater,  or  even  a great  part  of 
t I do  say  that  the  want  of  thrift  aggravates  the 
d makes  a heavy  burden  still  harder  to  carry. 
50  common  among  the  American  people  is  the 
is  spent  in  senseless  pleasure  and  vice — a certain 
:d  by  all  classes — there  cannot  be  efficient  work 
there  is  no  doubt  that  a billion  dollars  is  spent 
e United  States  on  indulgences  which  not  only  can- 
ire,  but  which  do  positive  physical  and  moral  harm, 
the  discussion  of  the  thrift  habit  before  the 
not  simply  mean  that  one  shall  deny  himself  food 
he  and  his  family  will  have  for  these  purposes, 
expenditures  that  there  may  be  more  money  for 
make  for  a better  people  and  government.  You 
thrift,  and  you  cannot  have  community  thrift 

find  so  many  people  no  better  off.  We  boast  of 
hT  better  off  we  are,  and  are  pained  to  find  we 
rosperous  times,  and  then  we  turn  around  and 
by  the  agitators  and  demagogues — strikes  and 
5 not  demand  Thrift.  We  want  a system  which 
r whim  and  follow  every  fashion — but  we  will 

* lines.  Thrift  is  not  a mere  forced  rule ; it  is  a 
le  pocket,  but  an  affair  of  character.  Thrift  is 
h a matter  of  money  as  an  attitude  of  mind.  Our 
ie  better  by  the  practice  of  thrift.  Little  by  little 
m of  the  world  conserved.  Little  by  little  did 
le  wealth  accumulate — that  is  thrift.  Thrift  is 
ich  money  to  be  a spendthrift,  because  that  fault 
h a spendthrift  with  a dollar  as  with  a fortune, 
nly  wisdom  in  using  it.  ' 

^qual  chance — equality  of  opportunity  is  the  foun- 
taught  in  the  public  schools,  beginning  in  the 
« and  sciences  to  fit  them  for  the  reins  of  gov- 
! f that  be  done  the  national,  state  and  county  and 
ssened  in  our  future  generations. 

• is  an  example  of  shiftlessness  caused  by  the 
’amounts  from  the  people.  They  read  the  alluring 

or  $50  they  have  in  the  savings  bank — savings 
become  disheartened,  discouraged  in  saving 

Emerson  says,  “Creative  economy  is  the  essence 
cost  of  living  to  contend  with,  I believe  this  the 
this  Society  and  that  it  will  be  almost  panacea 

•prise  with  which  all  good  people  ought  to  be  in 


u 


ylmerican  Society  for  thrift 


clusively  in  book  work,  appeals  only  to  the  child 
who  learns  well  from  the  printed  page,  the  type  of 
child  called  “abstract”  minded.  The  type  of  “con- 
crete minded”  children,  who  learn  best  by  doing, 
get  scant  help  in  the  prevailing  system.  As  a re- 
sult, 2,000,000  children  between  the  ages  of  fourteen 
and  sixteen  years,  throughout  the  United  States, 
leave  school  before  they  have  finished  their  grades. 
Only  half  of  them  obtain  work,  and  only  half  of 
them  leave  school  because  they  have  to  go  to  work. 
The  others  simply  lose  interest  and  become  idle  and 
often  vicious.  In  Wisconsin,  all  children  between 
those  ages  who  have  not  been  through  the  grades, 
must  go  to  the  newly  established  industrial  schools, 
and  both  older  children  and  adults  may  go  to  them. 
The  minimum  time  spent  in  these  schools  is  five 
hours  a week,  and  the  employers  pay  the  students 
for  the  time  put  in.  They  are  taught  English,  the 
elements  of  citizenship  and  hygiene,  as  well  as  the 
most  efficient  methods  in  the  pursuit  of  their  trade, 
whatever  it  may  be.  The  latter  classes  range  from 
machine  shop  work  to  salesmanship,  and  result  not 
only  in  a largely  increased  earning  capacity,  but 
in  turning  out  a much  higher  grade  of  citizen  than 
is  turned  out  by  the  ordinary  schools.  Last  year, 
seventeen  thousand  students  of  all  ages  took  ad- 
vantage of  these  courses;  this  year  25,000  are  being 
educated,  and  next  year  the  number  will  be  40,000. 
There  are  at  present  thirty  such  schools  in  Wis- 
consin, with  a maximum  annual  appropriation  of 
$3,000  each,  half  of  that  being  paid  from  the  local 
and  half  from  the  general  school  fund.  The  appro- 
priation for  this  coming  year  is  $150,000.  The 
average  yearly  cost  for  each  pupil  is  nearly  ten  dol- 
lars. Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  are  instituting 
similar  systems  and  progressive  cities  in  other 
states  are  following  Wisconsin’s  example. 

This  new  method  of  conserving  our  human  capital 
marks  a new  era  in  the  relations  of  workers,  em- 
ployer, and  state,  and  shows  the  spirit  of  thrift  and 
the  spirit  of  humanity  to  be  one. 


THRIFT  IN  ENERGY. 

Frederick  W.  Taylor,  the  father  of  scientific  man-1 
agement,  had  his  attention  called  to  the  necessity! 
for  thrift  in  industry  by  watching  the  ways  of  pig  1 
iron  workers  in  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Works.  These  | 
men  had  the  simple  job  of  lifting  pigs  of  iron  from 
piles  on  to  other  piles,  or  on  to  cars.  They  usually 
moved  ten  tons  of  iron  a day  and  received  $1.15  in 
wages.  Mr.  Taylor  figured  that  they  should  be  able 
to  move  at  least  forty-seven  tons  a day.  He  did  not 
urge  them  to  increase  their  output,  but  he  picked 
out  a strong  looking  worker  and  led  him  to  a pile 
containing  forty-seven  tons.  Without  telling  him 
the  weight  of  the  pile,  he  offered  him  $1.80  a day  if 
he  would  move  that  quantity.  The  man  did  so  with- 
out any  trouble.  He  selected  the  men  who  could 
do  this,  raised  their  wages  and  put  the  men  who 
could  not  do  it  on  less  exacting  kinds  of  labor. 

Thrift  insists  that  the  square  pegs  shall  not  be 
put  in  the  round  holes. 


vi 


yJmerican  Society  for  thrift 


THE  FACTORY  AND  THRIFT. 

Another  student  of  scientific  management,  Mr. 
Sanford  E.  Thompson,  was  asked  by  Mr.  Taylor  to 
put  the  work  of  testing  balls  for  bicycle  bearings  on 
a thrifty  basis.  In  the  largest  factory  of  its  kind 
in  the  country  this  work  was  done  by  120  girl  inspec- 
tors. They  would  lay  a number  of  the  small  steel 
balls  between  the  fingers  of  their  outstretched 
hands,  turn  them  over  by  passing  a magnet  near 
them,  looking  at  them  through  a magnifying  glass 
at  the  same  time.  Their  duty  was  to  reject  all  the 
balls  which  showed  flaws.  These  girls  received  from 
$4.50  to  $5.50  a week,  and  worked  10 y2  hours  a day. 
By  a device  called  “over  inspection,”  Mr.  Thomp- 
son found  out  the  conditions  under  which  the  work 
was  done  accurately  and  also  which  girls  were 
naturally  adapted  for  the  work.  He  found  that  after 
454  hours  of  work  the  girls  became  inaccurate,  evi- 
dently being  tired  out  by  the  nervous  strain.  The 
girls  who  were  naturally  inaccurate  were  elimin- 
ated altogether.  The  work  hours  of  the  other  girls 
were  reduced  from  10^  hours  to  8 y2  hours  a day, 
with  an  interval  of  ten  minutes  rest  in  the  middle 
of  the  morning,  and  one  in  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon. As  a result  .of  these  and  other  changes,  the 
number  of  girls  doing  this  work  was  reduced  from 
120. to  35;  their  hours  were  reduced  as  stated  above; 
their  work  was  done  with  two-thirds  greater  ac- 
curacy, and  as  a result,  it  was  possible  to  increase 
their  wages  from  80  to  100  per  cent. 

Thrift  means  ease  and  happiness  in  work  and 
regards,  strain  as  a form  of  extravagance. 


THRIFT  IN  METHODS. 

F.  B.  Gilbreth  applied  the  principles  of  thrift  to 
bricklaying  and  increased  the  work  done  from  120 
bricks  per  man  per  hour  to  350.  Most  of  this  in- 
crease was  due  to  the  cutting  out  of  superfluous 
motions.  Instead  of  bending  down  and  then  raising 
the  body  every  time  a brick  was  picked  up — a tre- 
mendous waste  of  energy  when  we  consider  that  a 
bricklayer  might  weigh  150  pounds  or  more— he  had 
the  bricks  placed  on  a movable  scaffold,  kept  level 
with  the  height  of  the  wall,  so  that  no  stooping  was 
necessary.  Instead  of  first  picking  up  a brick  with 
one  hand  and  then  laying  on  the  mortar  with  the 
other  hand,  he  had  both  of  these  operations  per- 
formed at  once.  Instead  of  “tamping”  a brick  with 
the  trowel,  to  set  it  right  after  it  was  placed  on 
the  mortar,  he  mixed  the  mortar  to  such  a consis- 
tency that  the  brick  could  be  aligned  by  a simple 
pressure  of  the  hand.  As  a result  of  these  changes, 
the  bricklayer  did  not  have  to  work  any  harder, 
but,  as  every  move  counted,  he  was  enabled  to  in- 
crease his  output  as  stated  and  naturally  his  wages 
were  increased  too. 

Thrift  honors  the  fathers  by  improving  upon  their 
methods. 


THE  OPPOSITE  OF  WASTE. 

The  Philadelphia  Vacant  Lot  Cultivation  Society 
attempts  to  bring  idle  or  partially  idle  people  on  to 


13 


jlmcrican  Society  for  thrift 


idle  land,  which  not  only  enables  such  people  to 
make  an  income,  or  supplement  their  earnings,  but 
improves  the  lots,  which  are  loaned  by  owners  (who 
are  holding  them  for  the  “unearned  increment.”) 
For  the  last  few  years  at  least  four  thousand  indivi- 
duals a year  have  received  the  benefits  of  this 
scheme,  and  they  have  produced  $60,000  worth  of 
garden  truck.  Most  of  the  gardens  are  from  half 
an  acre  to  an  acre  in  extent. 

One  middle  aged  man  with  a family  to  support 
could  only  earn  $7.50  a week.  He  was  given  a 
garden  plot  and  worked  it  so  successfully  that  the 
next  season  he  was  recommended  for  a position  as 
gardener  in  a Philadelphia  school.  The  second  year 
he  was  reappointed  to  this  position.  The  next  year 
he  took  a position  as  manager  of  a farm.  Here  he 
saved  his  earnings  and  soon  rented  a farm  for 
himself.  He  made  a success  of  it,  sold  out  his  in- 
terest for  a good  sum,  and  accepted  a position  as 
director  of  an  agricultural  experiment  station  with  j 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad. 

A substitute  mail  carrier  applied  for  a garden  plot 
in  the  season  and  could  only  obtain  one-eighth  of  j 
an  acre.  In  spite  of  the  lateness  and  the  small  size  j 
of  his  lot,  he  raised  $47.90  worth  of  garden  truck 
that  season. 

A boy  of  fourteen  obtained  a plot  and  earned 
enough  to  buy  clothing  and  shoes  to  enable  him  to 
go  to  school  in  the  winter. 

To  have  idle  men  and  idle  land  in  the  same  city 
is  a crime  against  the  spirit  of  thrift  and  of  humanity. 

POSTAL  SAVINGS  BANK. 

Founded  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  thrift 
among  the  people,  whose  savings  were  too  small  to  \ 
make  it  seem  worth  while  to  the  ordinary  • banking 
institutions  to  go  after  their  business,  the  postal 
savings  system  of  the  United  States  is  proving  a 
greater  success.than  even  its  friends  predicted.  There 
are  today  more  than  12,000  postoffices  where  the  peo- 
ple may  make  their  deposits  and  every  month  they  j 
are  adding  about  $1,000,000  to  their  permanent  sav-  1 
ings.  Today  they  have  upward  of  $34,000,000  on  de- 
posit with  Uncle  Sam. 

With  postal  savings  banks  there  is  now  no  excuse 
for  hoarding  money — a practice  which  has  often  re- 
sulted in  its  total  loss. 

THRIFT  IN  INVESTMENTS. 

In  the  year  1911,  a total  of  $120,000,000  was  stolen 
from  the  American  people  by  get-rich-quick  promo- 
ters, according  to  the  financial  statement  of  Postmas- 
ter General  Hitchcock,  and  this  amount  was  an  in- 
crease of  $50,000,000  over  the  previous  year,  and  it 
affected  525,600  victims.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
if  we  include  the  cases  which  have  not  been  reported 
to  the  postmaster  general — for  many  people  are 
ashamed  to  acknowledge  the  fact  that  they  have  been 
swindled — $300,000,000  a year  is  dropped  by  the 
American  people  into  worthless  schemes.  In  Illinois 
alone  the  annual  loss  of  get-rich-quick  victims  is 
$15,000,000  to  $20,000,000.  The  only  safe  rule  for  an 
investor  is  to  steer  absolutely  clear  of  any  invest-  I 
ment  of  a doubtful  nature.  The  fact  that  the  com-  i 


14 


jhnerican  Society  for  thrift 


pany  may  have  the  names  of  prominent  men  on  its 
board  of  directors  should  not  induce  the  small  in- 
vestor to  make  an  exception  to  this  rule.  A Califor- 
nia oil  company  induced  the  late  Real-Admiral  Rob- 
ley  D.  Evans  to  become  its  president,  and  largely 
on  the  strength  of  his  name,  $500,000  was  raised  by 
the  sale  of  shares  to  the  public.  Of  course,  Admiral 
Evans  was  deceived  in  the  character  of  his  associates, 
who  failed  absolutely  to  make  good.  The  company 
collapsed  and  the  people  appointed  to  wind  up  its 
affairs  found  a total  sum  in  its  treasury  of  $29.00. 
The  investor  should  remember  that  if  any  scientific 
discovery  is  commercially  valuable,  the  capitalists 
will  utilize  that  invention  and  put  their  money  into  it. 
When  the  public  is  asked  to  contribute,  it  simply 
means  that  there  is  at  the  best  a large,  element  of 
risk  and  it  generally  means  that  the  whole  matter  is 
more  or  less  of  a fake.  Christopher  Columbus  Wil- 
son collected  over  $3,000,000  from  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  capitalize  the  United  Wireless  Com- 
panies. He  recently  died  in  the  penitentiary  after 
leading  a riotous  life  in  which  a good  proportion  of 
that  $3,000,000  was  spent  for  “wine,  woman  and 
song.” 

The  thrifty  investor  should  remember  that  money 
is  never  given  away  in  the  business  world,  and 
should  always  distrust  the  man  who  pretends  to 
give  it. 

THRIFT  IN  THE  USE  OF  TIME. 

The  principles  of  scientific  management  can  be 
applied  by  everyone  to  his  or  her  own  personal  life. 
A record  of  how  one  spends  any  one  day  will  show 
a total  waste  of  some  hours  in  little  leaks  of  a few 
minutes  each.  One  man  who  decided  to  utilize  these 
odd  moments,  learned  several  of  the  longest  English 
poems  in  the  minutes  spent  dressing  every  morning. 
A Massachusetts  judge,  who  commuted,  gained  a 
perfect  reading  knowledge  of  French  by  taking  a 
French  book  and  a dictionary  with  him  on  his  daily 
train  trips.  Such  instances  as  these  could  be  multi- 
plied indefinitely. 

Everyone  has  the  necessary  time  for  an  education. 
Everyone  ought  to  have  the  necessary  application. 

THRIFT  IN  AMUSEMENTS. 

The  idea  of  thrift  in  amusements  may  be  novel  to 
many  people  and  may  easily  be  misunderstood.  It 
does  not,  however,  mean  the  denial  of  amusements, 
but  simply  the  idea  of  efficiency  applied  to  them. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  thrift,  amusements  are  of 
two  kinds,  those  that  increase  one’s  energy  and  those 
that  rob  one  of  energy.  If  a young  man  figured 
out  the  yearly  cost  in  money  of  moving  picture 
shows,  and  the  number  of  hours  spent  in  the  air  of 
the  moving  picture  theater,  he  probably  would  find 
that  the  money  would  more  than  pay  for  a Y.  IM.  C. 
A.  or  athletic  club  subscription,  and  that  the  vital- 
izing nature  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  and  the  sociabil- 
ity of  the  institution  would  make  the  latter  a far 
more  thrifty  investment,  both  of  his  money  and  of 
his  time. 

Let  your  amusements  serve  you  rather  than  over- 
work you  for  the  benefit  of  the  amusement  vendor. 


15 


jlmerican  Society  for  thrift 


THRIFT  IN  READING. 

Another  little  exploited  field  for  thrift,  but  a fruit- 
ful one,  is  the  time  and  money  spent  for  reading. 
Probably  no  one  factor  has  a greater  effect  on  our 
character  or,  at  least,  may  be  made  to  have  a greater 
effect  on  our  character — than  reading,  and  yet  most 
people  do  their  reading  in  a shiftless  and  thriftless 
manner.  The  first  thing  to  remember  is  that  the  best 
books  are  the  cheapest,  because  they  have  become 
classics  and  may  be  bought  in  a variety  of  cheap 
editions.  For  a very  little  over  the  price  of  two 
popular  magazines,  one  may  buy  in  such  a series 
as  “Everyman’s  Library”  practically  any  of  the 
greatest  books  of  the  world’s  greatest  thinkers, 
poets,  or  the  older  novelists.  Then,  if  the  reader 
wished  to  have  the  present  day  novelists  among  his 
permanent  book  possessions,  he  need  not  pay  the 
$1.25  or  more  usually  asked,  for  practically  all  of 
these  novels  are  reissued  soon  after  their  first  pub- 
lication in  what  is  known  as  the  popular  copyright 
series  at  50  cents.  The  careful  reader  may  also 
keep  up  to  date  in  science  and  contemporary  thought 
through  such  a series  as  the  “Home  University 
Library,”  or  “The  People’s  Books,”  which  sell  at 
50  and  20  cents  respectively,  and  which  are  written 
by  the  most  prominent  scientists  and  critics  of  the 
day. 

The  man  who  is  not  familiar  with  the  best 
thoughts  of  the  race  is  still  a child. 

THRIFT  AND  THE  RAILROADS 

Mr.  Louis  D.  Brandeis  testified  before  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  that  the  railroads  of 
the  country  could  save  a million  dollars  a day  by 
applying  the  principles  of  thrift  to  running  their 
roads,  and  he  gave  specific  instances  of  how  the 
application  of  scientific  management  would  bring 
this  reform  about.  The  shippers  of  the  country  who 
complain  about  high  rates  would  find  their  own 
difficulties  largely  solved  and  the  railroads  would 
benefit  as  well,  if  waterways  were  built  paralleling 
the  main  roads  of  the  country  where  possible. 
These  waterways  could  carry  the  heavy  freight,  such 
as  grain  and  lumber,  and  the  roads  would  be  able 
to  specialize  on  perishable  and  high-class  freight 
on  which  they  know  they  make  a profit.  Bulky 
freight  is  handled  at  a loss,  although  the  railroads 
themselves  do  not  know  exactly  where  they  stand 
in  the  matter. 

Corporations  must  learn  that  thrift  is  not  the  cut- 
ting of  working  forces  or  wages,  but  the  better  co- 
ordination of  their  various  activities. 


A THRIFTY  CITY. 

When  Galveston,  Texas,  incorporated  the  com- 
mission plan  of  government,  a great  advance  was  made 
in  American  municipal  administration  and  a number 
of  other  cities  began  to  abolish  the  extravagant  and 
unwieldy  councils  and  boards  of  aldermen  and  to 
follow  Galveston’s  example.  Now,  Dayton,  Ohio, 
has  made  a further  application  of  the  principles  of 


16 


ylmerican  Society  for  thrift 


irift  and  instead  of  a board  of  commissioners,  she 
as  determined  to  place  her  municipal  government 
i the  hands  of  one  man,  a city  manager  who  will 
ave  entire  jurisdiction  and  entire  responsibility  to 
le  citizens  for  every  phase  of  municipal  govern- 
I lent,  with  the  exception  of  the  courts  and  the 
:hools.  He  will  have  commissioners  of  the  vari- 
us  departments,  but,  unlike  the  Galveston  com- 
lissioners,  these  men  will  not  be  responsible  to 
le  people  at  large,  but  will  be  responsible  to  their 
hief.  All  danger  of  one  man  tyranny  and  the  abuse 
f power  is  eliminated  in  this  case  by  the  people’s 
ower  of  initiative,  referendum  and  recall. 

Some  day  cities  will  reach  the  point  of  thrift 
rhere  they  can  pay  dividends  where  now  they  re- 
eive  taxes. 

THRIFT  FOR  THE  NATION. 

There  are  75,000,000  acres  of  swamp  lands  in  the 
Jnited  States  and  150,000,000  acres  whose  productiv- 
:y  would  be  increased  20  per  cent  by  drainage, 
'hese  225,000,000  acres  have  an  area  as  large  as 
Germany,  British  Isles,  Belgium  and  Holland,  which 
upport  a population  of  125,000,000.  The  National 
)rainage  Congress  has  figured  cost  of  the  drainage 
f the  whole  area  at  an  average  price  of  only  $10 
n acre,  or  $750,000,000  altogether,  against  a total 
f $2,250,000,000  the  reclaimed  land  would  produce — 
;30  an  acre — in  crops.  Furthermore,  medical  men 
laim  that  the  reduction  of  the  mosquito  population 
>y  this  means  would  save  250,000  lives  every  year. 

The  wealth  we  search  for  along  the  horizon  is 
generally  at  our  feet. 

IRRIGATION  AND  THRIFT. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  of  national 
hrift  is  furnished  by  the  reclamation  of  the  arid 
vest  through  irrigation.  Land  that  for  many  years 
vas  thought  to  be  quite  useless  and,  indeed,  simply 
. barrier  to  the  rest  of  the  nation  and  its  western 
oast,  has,  within  the  last  few  years,  been  supplied 
vith  water  through  the  efforts  of  the  government 
:ommercial  corporations,  cooperative  societies  and 
ndividuals  until  at  the  present  time  practically 
4,000,000  acres  have  been  reclaimed,  at  a cost  of 
>ver  $304,000,000.  So  well  has  some  of  this  work 
>een  done  that  the  annual  cost  of  upkeep  for  the 
rrigated  area  is  now  a little  over  a dollar  an  acre. 
The  forests,  which  are  the  ultimate  source  of  the 
vater  for  this  land,  are  now  practically  sure  of 
>eing  preserved,  although,  for  a time,  it  seemed  as 
f commercial  greed  would  result  in  their  denuda- 
ion.  Where  farming  under  irrigation  has  not 
;eemed  to  pay,  it  usually  has  been  due  to  the  inex- 
>erience  of  the  farmer  or,  in  some  cases,  of  the 
intrained  city  man,  who  was  endeavoring  to  do 
:he  work.  At  the  present  time,  a number  of  text 
>ooks  which  point  out  the  best  methods  of  working 
rrigated  land,  the  choice  of  live  stock  on  irrigated 
arms  and  other  points,  leave  no  excuse  for  failure 
n this  branch  of  agriculture. 

Success  or  failure  in  irrigation  is  not  a question 
)f  water,  but  of  brains  and  application. 


17 


Jlmerican  Society  for  thrift 


THRIFT  IN  THE  TREATMENT  OF 
PRISONERS. 

Men  are  released  from  our  prisons  at  the 
rate  of  over  a hundred  a day — generally  without 
means  of  support  and  in  a discouraged  condition 
in  which  the  temptation  is  only  too  great  for  them 
to  relapse  into  crime  again.  An  association  has 
found,  however,  that  humanity  in  treating  prisoners 
is  equivalent  to  the  most  far-sighted  and  yet  im- 
mediately profitable  thrift.  A recent  annual  report 
of  the  Central  Howard  Association  tells  how  121  men 
were  paroled  to  the  society  before  their  sentences 
had"  expired.  Eighty-one  per  cent  of  these  men 
fulfilled  all  the  conditions  of  their  parole,  and,  in 
various  positions,  earned  an  aggregate  of  $48,000. 
During  that  year  the  total  expenses  of  the  society, 
which  included  many  other  activities  besides  placing 
these  men,  were  only  $8,012.36.  If  we  imagine  the 
investment  enlarged  to  apply  to  all  prisoners  who 
are  released  upon  society,  we  get  a glimpse  of  the 
enormous  saving  to  society  which  such  a policy 
would  involve. 

True  thrift  recognizes  that  the  basis  of  real 
prosperity  is  the  human  being  headed  in  the  right 
direction,  and  that  men  headed  in  the  wrong  direc- 
tion are  the  greatest  menace  to  national  progress. 


Honorable  Mention 

Definitions  and  Stories  of  Thrift 


By  Kathryn  Morse,  8th  grade,  Bryant  School,  3244  Clinton 

Ave.,  Minneapolis,  Minn.: 

Thrift  means  a vigorous  growth  as  of  a plant.  So  in  a 
person,  thrift  would  he  a vigorous  growth  of  all  one’s  powers.- 
As  a result  success  and  prosperity  would  follow.  One  would 
be  in  a thriving  state  or  condition. 

By  Myrtle  Cantwell,  Lewis  Junior  High,  Ogden,  Utah: 

Thrift  implies  willingness  to  work,  capability  of  earning, 
being  industrious,  planning  for  the  future,  conserving  and 
increasing  what  you  have  by  good  management. 

By  Melvin  Alander,  Lowell  School,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.: 

Once  I knew  a boy  who  was  saving  his  money  when  he 
went  to  school.  Often  children  made  fun  of  him  all  they 
could,  but  he  never  cared,  but  kept  on  saving  money.  Finally 
he  saved  enough  money  and  bought  a pony  and  wagon  and 
then  planted  vegetables,  potatoes  and  sweet  corn  and  sold 
them  during  summer  vacation  and  earned  money  in  that  way. 
He  did  this  for  several  summers  and  now  he  has  bought  seven 
acres  of  land  about  one  mile  southeast  of  Hartford,  S.  D. 
His  name  is  Earnest  Reneldo  and  his  home  is  at  Hartford, 
S.  D. 

By  Elizabeth  Mary  Shoemaker,  Grade  8-A1,  Age  13  years 

Windermere  Ave.,  Interlaken,  N.  J. ; care  Asbury  Park  P.  O 

In  1852,  in  a sleepy  little  Pennsylvania  town,  a boy  was 
born  whose  tenacity  of  purpose  led  him  to  great  things.  A 
mother’s  hard  work  and  economy  gave  him  an  educatior. 
that  admitted  him  to  Dickinson  College.  Furnishing  rooms 
and  selling  them  to  new  students  and  writing  up  lectures  foi 
indolent  boys  brought  in  enough  money  to  pay  for  thres 
meager  meals  a day.  _ T 

Graduating  with  ordinary  honors,  he  entered  Jeffersor 
Medical  College.  Here  the  struggle  was  greater.  A wall- 
half  across  the  city  to  lectures,  some  dry  bread  and  cole 
meat  at  noon,  made  medicine  almost  an  endless  study.  Ye 
in  order  to  get  his  degree  this  boy  gladly  cleaned  the  oper 
ating  rooms,  did  all  kinds  of  demonstrating,  and  brought  joj 
to  his  mother  by  graduating  with  high  honors.  It  was  y 
long  way  he  had  gone,  from  watching  the  rebels  burn  hi: 
home  which  threw  him  on  his  own  resources  as  a boy,  t< 
being  made  in  1896,  the  president  of  the  Medico-Chirugica  : 
College  of  Philadelphia. 


18 


American  Society  for  thrift 


y Vera  Martindale,  8th  Grade,  Sub  High  School,  Warren,  Ba. 


f land  had  advanced. 
ig  from  work  and  is 
orae, 


Ipha  Sonne,  Sub  Sigh  School,  Warren,  Pa.: 

In  1870  my  grandparents  came  to  America  from  Denmark, 
leither  could  speak  English  and  they  had  no  home  to  go  to. 
'here  were  some  Dane  people  here  and  Grandpa  soon  got 
cquainted  with  them,  and  these  people  said  that  they  might 
tay  with  them  for  awhile.  Then  grandpa  found  work  as  a 
arpenter  and  soon  had  bought  some  land.  He  started  to 
uild  a house  on  it,  building  it  himself.  He  worked  nights 
fter  his  own  work  was  done  and  he  worked  mornings. 
Anally,  one  room  was  done  and  they  moved  into  it.  The 
oor  was  just  boards  and  they  had  practically  no  furniture, 
ut  they  saved  and  scraped  until  the  house  was  built,  and  it 
/as  quite  a large  house.  Then  grandpa  built  another  house 
n the  property  and  sent  for  grandma’s  sister  in  Denmark  ^ 
o come  over,  and  she  lived  in  it  for  awhile. 

By  that  time  grandpa  was  working  steadily  in  a furniture 
hop  They  had  four  children,  all  boys.  They  educated 
hem  and  had  money  in  the  bank.  Grandpa  died  last  March 
tnd  left  grandma  the  property  valued  at  $10,000,  and  all 
he  money  she  will  need.  If  grandpa  hadn’t  worked  hard 
md  saved  they  might  have  been  little  better  off  than  when 
hey  came  to  America. 

Ellen  Boyle,  Lewis  High  School,  Southington,  Conn.: 

A cutler’s  family  of  my  acquaintance  furnishes  a good 
example  of  what  thrift  can  accomplish. 

One  day  the  father  stepped  aboard  a moving  train  and 
'ell  so  that  his  arm  lay  across  the  track.  The  wheels  of  the 
rain  severed  it  from  his  body. 

For  many  weeks  money  was  going  out  and  none  coming 
n.  so  his  wife  had  to  do  something  to  support  the  family. 

She  placed  some  counters  and  shelves  in  a large  front 
*oom  and  bought  a small  stock  of  notions  to  sell.  School 
children  bought  candy  and  pencils  at  her  store.  Working 
nen  stopped  there  for  tobacco.  Finding  herself  successful, 
she  ordered  a larger  stock.  All  this  time  she  did  her  house- 
work and  sent  her  children  to  school. 

When  her  husband  was  able  to  help,  her  trade  had  so  in- 
creased that  she  hired  a larger  house,  enlarging  her  business 
ay  adding  newspapers,  toys  and  fruits. 

Again  she  moved  to  a larger  building  and  bought  a home. 
Meantime,  she  had  given  her  four  children  a college  educa- 
tion. Now  they  are  in  business,  but  her  work  is  done.  The 
business  she  left  is  conducted  by  her  husband  and  son  and 
they  own  the  largest  department  store  in  the  town. 


10 


WEST 

NICH 


.UNION 

■TTER 


THEO.  N.  VAIL.  PRESIDENT 


Received  at  Cefc Jackson  Boulevard  antf  L*  Salle  St.,  Chicane 

329DSFF  76  NL.  COLLECT  N.l/f 
DBSMOINES  IA  NOV  1-13  ^ 

S.W.  STRAUS, 

CHAIRMAN-  COMMITTEE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY  FOR  TERIJ 
CHGO  ILLS  . 

TOO  MUCH  CANNOT  BE  DONE  FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OP  THRIFT 
IT  OUGHT  TO  BE  URGED  UPON  THE  YOUNG  IN  THE 

HOME  .IN  THE  SCHOOL  EVERYWHERE.  THRIFT  AS  A NECESSITY  As| 
A DUTY  OUGHT  TO  BE  INSISTED  UPON  FOR  EVERYBODY  IN 
EVERY  PLACE  OF  PUBLIC  DISCUSSION.  THE  WANT  OF  FRUGALITY] 
UNLIMITED  EXTRAVAGANCE  OF  THE  TIME  IS  A PUBLIC  MENACE  AN 
ANY  MOVEMENT  THAT  WILL  TEND  TO  CHECK  IT  DESERVES  THE 
HIGHEST  COMMENDATION. 

G.W.  CLARKE 

GOVERNOR  OF  IOWA 


8126?  A6  41  COLLECT  N.L;  4 EXQ 


S.W  STRAUS 


CHAIRMAN  NO  1002  STRAUS  BLDG 


X 6 


CHG  0 ILL 


I ACCEPT  ADVISORY  COUNSEL  EXTRAVAGANCE  BECOME  CONTAGIOUS  AND  EF 
THE  COMMUNITY  STATE  AND  NATION  AND  TENDS  TO  PRODUCE  DI3SATISFAC 
AND  DISCONTENT  WHILE  ON  THE  OTHER  HAND  ECONOMY  AND  THRIFT  PROM 
SUBSTANT LABILITY  AND  PRODUCE  HAPPINESS  AND  CONTENTMENT 


CHARLES  R MILLER 


GOVERNOR  STATE  OF 


1158PM 


Rogers  & Hale  Co.,  Printers 


